


dancing in your levis, drunk under a streetlight

by saraluvstiva



Category: NCIS
Genre: But maybe just a little, F/M, Fluff, TIVA - Freeform, am I going to write another song about Tiva based on this song? also yes, cardigan, did taylor write this song specifically for them? yes, folklore inspired, friends to loverss, plz enjoy how I envision their summer of secrets starting, season 4 that we didn't get to see
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26150611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saraluvstiva/pseuds/saraluvstiva
Summary: It's been a tense few weeks with Tony as the new team leader, the one person he knows he can confide is in her. This is my take on how the secret summer of s*x started. Inspired- of course- by the amazing Tiva stan, Taylor Swift. For Jess on her birthday <3
Relationships: Ziva David/Anthony DiNozzo
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	dancing in your levis, drunk under a streetlight

The knock on her door was abrupt, she had barely been home from the office and was exhausted. While Tony was doing a good job of filling Gibbs’ shoes after he ‘retired’, his first two weeks had been  _ difficult _ . She tried her best to be encouraging and helpful, but he did not seem to want that. Before leaving the office, she had pulled him aside to chat, to see how he was doing, but like Gibbs, he brushed her off and said he was fine, giving her a steely eyed stare as he walked away. She decided it was best to leave him alone, but at least he knew she would be there when he- inevitably- needed someone to talk to. She went to answer the door, unaware of anyone who would be coming to see her. To her surprise it was him. 

“Tony.” She said as she opened the door to see his face- he had a mix of worried and slyness to his grin. He had also changed, he was no longer in his pressed pants and polo- emulating their former boss with his own flair- but was now in his Ohio State shirt and Levi jeans. He looked to be ready to talk, or maybe all he needed was a distraction. “Come in, please.”

“Thanks. Sorry to just drop in. I just-” he trailed off, lost in his own thoughts, “I just wanted to see if you were up for a drink or something. I need to let off some steam.”

She could go for a drink, but she wondered his true motives. Why had he brushed her off earlier, only to arrive on her doorstep needing some help letting off steam? Whatever his reasoning was, she would never say no to a drink. “Sure, let me just change, I am tired of wearing these office clothes.” He nodded and she went to her room, she changed into her own jeans and a tank top. It was summer in DC and hotter than she could have imagined. Yes, she was from Israel- which is a desert- and used to heat, this was different, being trapped in a concrete city, the heat was affecting her differently. After only a few minutes, she was locking her apartment and heading to a local bar down the road. 

He wasted no time ordering drinks and shots for them. They sat in silence for a bit, letting the alcohol sink in, making the conversation easier. She was trying to find the right words to talk to him, but he beat her to it.

After taking a big swig of his scotch, he spoke, “Do you think I’m doing a good job as team leader?” He avoided her eyes as he asked her. He wanted a truthful answer, but couldn’t look at her to see her reaction.

“Oh. Well, yes I do.” She chose her words carefully. His whole face shifted from glancing at a tv screen to her face now. 

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“Maybe it is because you don’t believe yourself when you say you are doing a good job.” She paused, letting the weight of her words sink in him, “Why do you think you are not doing well?”

“I never said that.” He gave her a disbelieving smile as he scoffed in her direction. “I think I’m doing as good of a job as anyone given how they got the job.” He took another drink of his scotch, she watched as he held it in his mouth before swallowing and looking at her. “I’m gonna ask again Ms. David. Do you think I’m doing a good job as team leader?”

It was her turn to take a drink before talking. She finished her glass of scotch, gently placing the empty glass on the table, and looked directly into his eyes. “I think you are doing a good job, yes. But I also think you are trying too hard to be Gibbs. And that is your mistake. You are not Gibbs, you are Tony DiNozzo.” She watched carefully as her words sat with him. “Maybe the reason you do not feel you are doing well is because you keep comparing yourself to him. Gibbs was not perfect.”

“Yeah but he held the job for years with little complaints.” He had interrupted her, a tinge of anger in his voice. 

“Yes he did. He has years of experience, but he is not here anymore. You are. This is your job now, your team. Stop trying to be him, and stop looking over your shoulder for him to come back.”

“It’s only been two weeks, he could change his mind.” He waved to their waitress who brought them two fresh drinks. 

“Yes he could, but stop waiting for that to happen. Just be you. You know McGee and I will always have your back. And Agent Lee will be fine too.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. She could tell by the furrow of his brow that he was thinking and processing what she had said. She had wanted to say that to him for the past week. To see him doubt himself and his abilities was awful, she was glad to have that out. She sipped her drink while she waited on him.

“Thanks for that. I think I needed to hear it.”

She chuckled, “Yes you did. You need to not be so in your brain.” She smiled as she swung her hand around her head. 

“I think you mean my head, but you’re right. I need to just focus on being the team leader that I am.” He gave her a soft smile, something resembling a thank you for being there and being honest. There was something so different in his eyes as he looked at her. He was one drink ahead of her, maybe the alcohol was getting to him. They held each other’s gaze for a moment longer. 

* * *

What was supposed to be a short trip out for drinks turned into them leaving the bar at one in the morning. She had stopped drinking after her third scotch, but Tony had continued, becoming quite drunk. She had only been with the team for a year, but in that time she had never seen him like this. He almost looked free, nothing to worry about. No case to solve, no one to impress, no one to report to, he could just be himself right now. It was refreshing for her to see. She had given up trying to keep him walking in one direction, instead deciding to let him have his fun. She laughed as he turned around to her and then started to dance. He was drunk, dancing in the dead of night, with only the street lights to illuminate him. She found herself laughing so loud she heard someone ‘shush’ her from inside an apartment, she hadn’t realized that she had been smiling since they left the bar. 

Suddenly, he stopped and looked at her. “You know, that advice you gave me, I’m really gonna do it. I’m gonna be better.”   


“You were never bad in the first place, but good, I am glad to hear that.” She tried corralling him to her apartment building, already anticipating calling him a cab from inside. 

“I can’t keep waiting for him to come and take back something I’ve always wanted.” His eyes went from hazy to as wide as they could in a moment. That was it, the one thing he had been hiding. His true feelings, that being given this job was something he had just lucked into. Deep down, he had wanted this for some time, just unsure if he was ready to have his own team, to be the leader, to be the boss. Maybe that was why he had been so doubtful of his ability to lead the team. Maybe that was why he was waiting for it to all fall apart, because he wanted it so bad. 

“It is okay to be happy for yourself.” Her words snapped him out of his head. “It is okay to be happy to have this job, happy for him to have left. You can miss him as a mentor, as a boss, but be grateful that you were the one picked to replace him.”

“Yeah I know, it just feels so weird to be happy he’s gone, but also wish he was still here to talk to.” He had gone from dancing carelessly in an inebriated state to a sobering conversation about how he truly felt. She nodded her head to her door, he had barely noticed that they were at her apartment, let alone that they weren’t even outside anymore. 

“Why don’t you come in for a few minutes, we can call you a cab.” He followed her in and she offered him some water but he declined. She put a kettle on the stove for her own tea. She barely noticed him come into the kitchen with her. 

“If I had known you gave such good advice, I would have come to you earlier.” He chuckled, but she could tell what he really meant.

“I am used to it.”

“What do ya mean?” 

“It is nothing.” She shrugged at him, continuing to prepare her tea.

“No, I mean it. You told me exactly what I needed to hear. I’m glad I came to you.” He paused for a moment, sensing she was hesitant to look at him. “What do you mean you’re used to it?”

She squirmed at the stove for a second. “People assume that because I am young I do not know anything,” Stopping for only a deep breath before she continued, “So they never ask, they never allow me to speak.”

“Oh wow.” He stopped, not realizing the seriousness of her words, “Huh, well it's their losses.” She gave him a soft smile while she poured the water into her mug. The smell of jasmine tea filling her kitchen. 

They sat for a few minutes on her couch, waiting for his cab to come. “I could probably drive, I feel a lot more sober now than I did an hour ago.”   


“I think it is best to take a cab.” He agreed and they sat in silence as he awaited the call. She caught him looking at her, there was something different in his eyes as he looked. 

“What?” Her abrupt words snapped him out of whatever was running through his mind.

“Sorry, didn’t even realize I was staring.” He looked away, saved by his phone ringing. The cab driver was arriving. 

She walked with him to the door, she would watch from the window, making sure he got in the cab and not his car. 

“Thanks for tonight. I didn’t realize how much I needed to let off steam. To not be the team leader, to just be, me.”

“Of course, I do not mind.” 

They were standing close enough now to be able to feel the other’s breath. There was something in his eyes, she had noticed it a few times throughout the night. A few moments passed and neither of them had changed their position. His phone rang but he ignored it. Instead, he stared even more intently into her eyes. She met his gaze, only taking her eyes off him to look at his lips. He took note of the shift and without any words being said, leaned in and met her lips with his. This was not the first time they kissed, although their undercover assignment hardly counted, but there was so much in the way she felt kissing him. There was passion, something she did not get much of when she was with other men. He pulled back, gauging her reaction to this intimate moment. She met his eyes and shut her front door, pulling him inside and into another kiss. She thought to tell him to call his cab driver, but she knew he would leave after a few minutes anyway. 

Their second kiss was even more passionate than the first, there was no longer doubt of what would happen between them, yet there was also something so comforting about their embrace. His hand was under her shirt now, hers around his waist. They moved from the living room to her bedroom, barely taking their lips off each other to breathe. 

* * *

It was now even later into the evening, she looked at her clock, seeing that it was not night anymore, but the early hours of the morning. Tony lay next to her, fast asleep. She had not anticipated this, she definitely did not plan it or expect him to stay over. But he looked so peaceful, she did not want to disturb him to send him home. She got out from under the covers and went to her living room. She could see her bed from the couch, she sat and thought about what happened. 

“It was just one night. It’s just sex.” She whispered to herself, trying to reassure and calm the wave of feelings and thoughts running through her head. What she thought was just one night, turned into multiple times per week, sometimes they didn’t even have sex. There were nights where they just talked, or watched a movie and fell asleep. But it was definitely not just the one night, it continued through the whole summer, up until late August, when something changed with him. He started coming less, and if he did nothing happened between them. What started in the early months of summer came to an end as quickly as it started. It slipped away with the changing of months. She tried to tell herself it was nothing, but she never could stop the nagging feeling she felt when it was all said and done. Something had changed for her and she wondered if it had changed for him too. 


End file.
